A sentimental moment.

I am having a sentimental moment as I stare out the window, so bear with me.

I'd like proclaim my sincere appreciation for this forum and all the people here (lurkers included).

I've been hanging out here for over three years now...since before I started Antair, and as my business grows, and I communicate with other Micro-ISV owners here and outside the forum, the feeling of community and its appreciation grows stronger.

I've lasted here (actively) longer than I stayed at any *real* job (yes, I know I left myself open for an obvious joke there...try to refrain yourselves). Although we are on *some* level competitors of one another, we have no qualms about giving sincere, honest advice to anyone for the asking. This is a fantastic dynamic if you stop and think about it.

I'd also like to thank everyone for the valuable insights. And Andrey, thanks for sharing the 'sentimental moment'. I've also had my share of that too, although I used the blog for that.

I start frequenting forums back in '93, Fidonet and Usenet. I had my share of flamewars. I dropped the bad habbit. This happened in 100% of the (active) forums I've seen afterwards, so I didn't bother to even get started. BoS is the first forum I've found that doesn't have this problem. Great moderation? Great posters? Everything? I don't know, but it's a great pleasure. I plan to personally visit and buy lunch to many of the guys here as soon as the profits can pay for it :)

One thing: even if it may help, I know it's not because of the design of the forum software - the 'main' JoS forum is nowhere near the quality here.

I definitely share the sentiments expressed above. It's an excellent forum, and I'm very grateful for the people that share their wisdom with all. On the few occasions I've asked for advice here I've been overwhelmed with the level of generosity.

Thanks everyone :)

PS Our Energy Lens product was just approved by the MS Office Marketplace (partly thanks to this forum) so I'm in a slightly sentimental mood too!

Did you know that 2 beers equals roughly 30 gallons of beer or 2 kegs in the US? Actually a "keg" is not really a keg. A "Full Keg" is 30 gallons and a 1/2 barrel is 15.5 gallons; the latter of which most Americans refer to as a KEG or a beer!

Beer is good. Very good.

In the immortal words of Homer Simpson, "Mmmmmm BEER."

Yes, this forum is worth drinking too!

~Eric
Monday, July 17, 2006

Deleting …Approving …

Well, first off, I want to make it clear that I'm a nutjob - not a fruitcake.

I just want to say hats off to Joel for starting this forum and for publishing the great writings over the years. They've attracted a vibrant crowd, keeping the forums. There aren't that many places around the web that feel like home, but this is one of them.

And a big kudos to Eric for writing the Business of Software articles (esp. the micro-ISV one), which spurred Joel to create the BoS spin-off. Small software startups existed in the past and would have continued in the future, but coining the phrase "micro-ISV" really caught storm and made this a special place the last few years.

I don't know how many others were inspired to "go for it" because of this forum. I know I was. But I've got a feeling that it's unleashed a small economic army onto the software world, that we all hope grows into a big one.

P.S. If anyone's going to be in Oregon (aka, "definitely the most beautiful state" c.f. http://joel.spolsky.com/biketrip/9.htm ) for OSCON, drop me a line. I might be able to spare the time for a few pints.

I can't say I was inspired to go for it because of what I read, but the community here and the Micro ISV concept has given me a more structured view of what I've been trying to achieve. The community spirit and sense of shared goals have made me feel a lot less isolated, and the quality of the information that gets shared here is outstanding. I'm still learning a lot from everyone, and I wish I had all of you guys as advisors when I was getting started. As with most things in life, if only I knew then what I know now etc. etc.